Balanced multiple throttle



June 25, 1929. B MITH 1,718,388

BALANCED MULTIPLE THROTTLE Filed April 18, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 RINVENTOR.

- BY Q A TTORNE Y.

June25, 1929. B ITH 1,718,388

BALANCED MULTIPLE THROTTLE Filed April 18, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ezrf'Sm rf L,

, INVENTOR.

I k BY @/,%;Q

A TTORNE Y.

Patented June 25, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BERT SMITH, F PASSAIC, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN THROTTLE COM-PANY ING., OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BALANCED MULTIPLE THROTTLE.

Application filed April 18, 1927. Serial No. 184,714.

The invention relates to locomotives and more particularly to throttlesof the so-called multiple type used in connection with them.

Throttles of this multiple type are most conveniently housed in the samecasting with the superheater header. The general arrangement of such acombination header and throttle housing is shown in United States PatentReissue 16,285 to Ray M. Brown. Im-

proved forms which provide means to balance the throttles are claimed inBay M. Browns United States application, Serial No. 24,802, filed April21, 1925, and in United States application 153,329, filed by Neal T.McKee on December 8, 1926. The present invention constitutes an improvedform of structures such as shown in said patent and applications.

A very important factor in arrangements of this type is that of keepingthe total dis tance from front to rear as small as possible. This isnecessitated by the limited space available between the front tube sheetof a locomotive and the stack. Headers of the so-called T bolt type arereadily kept within the small limits at the designers disposal but whenit is desired to utilize the so-called through-bolt header with itsnumerous advantages the space limitations offer serious difiiculties.The improved form of the Brown application referred to above keeps thedimension re ferred' to within the desirable small limits, but adisadvantage is entailed because of the difliculty of machining the topof the header. The form of the Brown application referred to can beutilized in certain cases, but only if the space between the front. fiuesheet and stack is fairly large.

It is the purpose of the present invention to which the length fromfront to back is kept small. The header at the same time is of such formthat all the parts that have to be machined are readily accessible forthis purpose.

Other and more detailed objects of the invention will appear in thecourse of the following description. p

The invention is illustrated in the drawings accompanying the presentspecification. In these drawings Fig. 1 shows a top view, the right halfof it being in section, of a combined header and throttle according tomy invention. Fig. 2 shows a fragmentary front view,

5 the left portion being in'section on line 22 provide a novelarrangement of the combined superheater header and throttle housing inof Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows a sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4shows a section of header of a different form embodying my invention.

The general arrangement is as will be clear from what has been saidabove similar to that used heretofore. The boiler sheet is shown at 1,the front flue sheet at 2, and the fines at 3.- Into these fiues 3extend the superheater ments 4 by which it is delivered in a superheatedstate to the fingers or sub-headers 99 intermeshed in the usual way withthe first named series of sub-headers 8. From the sub-headers 9 thesteam is to be delivered to the two steam pipes 1010 but such flow is'tobe controlled by the multiple throttles. These multiple throttles areshown at 11.

They consist each of a disc-shaped valve proper 12 from which extendsdownwardly a stem 13 carrying a cylindrical piston 14. From this pistonthere extends downwardly a projection 15 while from the disc valve 12extends upwardly a guide rod 16. The disc valves 12 control openings inthe horizontal partition 17 while the pistons 14 reciprocate in thecylindricalapertures 18 in a partition 19. The partitions 1.7 and 19divide the valve housing into an upper space 20, a middle space 21 and alower space 22. The steam pipes 10 communicate by means of theconnections 23 with the middle space 21.

This general arrangement of the valve housing is not novel, but issimilar to that of the McKee application referred to above.

My invention is concerned more particularly with means for carrying thesteam from the fingers or sub-headers 9 to the upper space 20. I providefor this purpose a passage 24 which extends forward under the lowerchamber or space 22 and up in front of this same space and in front ofthe middle space 21 opening into the upper space 20. This nections' 23extend through it as Fig. lclearly illustrates. The overall dimensionfrom the front flue heeta to -the flanges 25-25 is not increased by'thepresence of the upward part of the passage 24.v When this passage isintroduced atztherear of chamber 21- as has been the custom heretofore,chamber 21 is thrown forward so far that the base 4001 the smoke stack41 interferes-with access to the chamber. explained more fully below.

The throttles are actuated in the usual manner by means of therotatablerod 26 and the fingers 27 secured to it; these fingers coming intocontact with the lower ends of the extensions 15. The purpose of thepistons 14 is,

as will be apparent to those familiar with this art, to balancethe-throttles so that they may be readily opened. When these throttlesare closed, steam from dry pipe 6 flowing through the header andsuperheater units reaches the upper space 20 and holds the throttlesdown. In order to balance them steam must be admitted to the lower space22. This is effected by means of the small balancing or pilot valve 28which is opened in advance of all the other valves When itis lifted fromitsseat, steam from'the upper space 20 flows directly into the lowerspace 22. The other valves can then be easily raised from their seats.

The extensions 16 on the valves extend into guideways 29 in the caps 30.These caps close openings 31 in the top wall of the throttle housing.Through these openings 31 the valves are readily accessible forinsertion, removal, honing, etc. The fit between the extension 16 andthe. walls of the cylindrical space 29 is a loose one so that the space29 is filled with steam under boiler pressure, and the steam escapingslowly through the loose fit acts as a cushion preventing a suddenupward movement of the valves when they first open.

Access to the superheater header and in particular to the caps isprovided through the opening 43 cut in the smoke-box sheet 42 andnormally closed by the cover 44. It will be seen from Fig. 3 that by myarrangement the chamber 21 and throttles 11 lie clear of the stack base,and access can therefore be readily gained for the purpose of inserting,grinding and removing the valves, which is possible only with difficultyin the former arrangement where the passage 24 is to the rear 2 ofchamber 21 and the latter therefore lies in superheaters. The bolt-headsare inserted in longitudinal slots in the header base in the manner wellknown to those familiar with this art, and do not extend clear throughthe superheater header. The top of the header This is veryobjectionable, as-

need, therefore, not be machined, and does not need to be accessible.This makes it possible to locate the entire throttle housing directlyover the fingers 8 and 9. This will be clear from an inspection of Fig.4. The fingers 9 deliver their steam directly to the upward riser 24which delivers it to the upper space 20 just as in the principal formfirst described. By locating the riser 24 at the front, the dimensionfrom the tube sheet to the flanges 25 is here also kept at a minimum,

and the throttle chamber likewise lies back second transversechamberparallel to the first; an apertured partition dividing it intoupper and lower spaces; valves controlling said apertures; means toconduct steam from the space below the partition; a smoke-stack baseabove and forward of the second transverse chamber; and a passage aroundthe front of the second chamber connecting the second set of fingers tothe space above the partition, whereby the second transverse chamberlies entirely out of line with the smoke-stack base.

2. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a locomotivesmoke-box; a superheater header in its upper part; said header having achamber extending transversely across the smoke-box; means to deliversaturated steam from the boiler to said chamber; a series of alinedspaced forwardly extending hollow fingers communicating with saidchamber; a second set of fingers in the spaces between the first; aplurality of superheater elements connecting the two sets; a secondtransverse chamber parallel to the first; an apertured partitiondividing it into upper and lower spaces; valves controlling saidapertures; two forwardly extending steam pipe connections to conductsteam from the space below the partition; and a passage including aportion between said steam pipe valves having heads controlling saidports and pistons reciprocating in said cylinders; manually operablemeans to actuate said valves; means to admit balancing steam into saidbottom space; two forwardly extending steam pipe connections from theintermediate space; and a passage extending up in front of the secondchamber connecting the second set of fingers to the top space.

BERT SMITH.

